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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 4, 2016 | 40 HALTON TRANSMISSION 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" Oakville's Lee Parkhill (photo below) speaks about his Road to Rio at a fundraising event July 24 at the club where it all started for him, the Oakville Yacht Squadron. Lee, his wife Alexandra and his "good luck charm" Emma Rose were on hand at the fundraiser before Parkhill left a few days later to prepare for the Olympic sailing competition, which begins on Monday. | Franki Ikeman -- Metroland West Media Group Parkhill takes on the world in Rio Oakville Olympic sailor not worried about Zika virus, quality of water while competing in Brazil By Kevin Nagel Beaver sports editor Lee Parkhill has arrived after a 14-year journey. The Oakville sailor landed in Rio de Janeiro last Wednesday and checked into the athletes' village the next day, preparing to compete in his first Olympic Games. He set up his boat on Friday. Parkhill, 27, will guide a single-handed laser dinghy in Olympic competition starting on Monday, Aug. 8. The race for the gold medal is scheduled to be held seven days later. He spent two weeks in Rio earlier this summer and is downplaying some of the risks of competing in Brazil -- the Zika virus, polluted water and terrorist activity -- in emails to the Beaver. "(I) haven't seen a single mosquito by the water," he said. "I'll continue to wear bug spray everyday as a precaution." The quality of the water is a non-issue for him, he added. "The water, in my opinion, is not as dirty as portrayed in the media," he said. "And after a day in the village I feel very safe so far. (There's) a lot of military and police presence at all gates and on all the roads that have routes to and from venues." Parkhill left for Rio a few days after attending a fundraiser/send-off last weekend at the Oakville Yacht Squadron club where he got his start on the water. "It was incredible," he said. "It is an amazing feeling as an athlete to have such a large and passionate group of supporters behind me who help push me to be my best. The send-off was a huge morale boost as well as a great financial help to recoup some of the costs from my last year of campaigning for the Olympics." As the most popular sailboat in the world, the laser class is also one of the most competitive in the sport. Parkhill said almost half of the 46 competitors in the laser class have a shot to win a race at anytime. "I've had success sailing in Rio so far in my career but the Olympics is a different animal," he said. "I'll just try to do my best and if I have a good week, a medal is definitely a possibility." Like most sailors, Parkhill was introduced to the sport on a laser. As a low-cost, simple- Lee Parkhill's mother Laurie was one of many supporters on hand to help raise funds and send the Olympic sailor to Rio last week. Lee's sailing competition begins on Monday. | Franki Ikeman -- Metroland West Media Group to-learn boat, he has competed in the class since he was 13. Now 27, Parkhill is a husband and new father and the designation seemed to help his sailing. "My daughter Emma Rose is my goodluck charm. I have had the year of my career since I found out my wife (Alexandra) was pregnant," said Parkhill, who won a Pan Am bronze, finished fifth at the Olympic test event, was named Rolex sailor-ofthe-year for Canada and qualified for the Olympics in a busy, 12-month span before the Games. "Being a dad and seeing the amazing process of a baby being born and developing gives perspective on life for sure," he said. His success isn't realized without a lot of training, financial hardship and help from his parents, family, friends, sponsors, supporters and his club. "(They) have all helped me reach my Olympic dream in different but equally important ways," he said. "To anyone that has helped me along the way and been a part of this I am forever grateful."